What to Do With Leftover Halloween Candy
Kids look forward to trick-or-treating all year long. But when they bring home buckets full of candy and chocolate, what do you do with it all? Of course, you sneak a few pieces of your favorites, but what about the rest?
Redistribute the candy.
Many adults end up eating much of the leftover candy, which doesn't help their waistlines. To avoid the temptation of the sweet stuff, get it out of your sight immediately. If the candy isn't lying around, you can't eat it!
Once your kids get home, tell them to set aside their favorite handful of treats, and distribute the rest to the next trick-or-treaters who come to your door. If you don't get many trick-or-treaters, bring the candy to work and let your coworkers fight over their favorites.
Once the trick-or-treaters have stopped coming around, it's time to sort through your goodies. Toss anything that's half opened or just hazardous for kids (like those jumbo-sized jaw breakers). Also, throw away any candy that wasn't dispensed in a wrapper. I tend to also throw out any super sticky foods that may cause cavities such as taffy and Tootsie Rolls (who needs those pricey dental bills?).
Some dentists, community centers, health clubs and pediatricians participate in Halloween buy-back programs, where they trade your child's candy for healthier alternatives or small toys.
If one of your children has an upcoming birthday party, save some candy to put in goodie bags or stuff into the birthday piñata.
Get creative in the kitchen.
Although you don't want to make candy the centerpiece in all of your desserts, you can use them as a fun ingredient on occasion.
-- Add a small amount of chocolate into cookie or cupcake batters. Opt for the dark chocolate whenever possible.
-- Make a chocolate bark by melting chocolate (like Hershey's mini chocolate bars) in a double broiler or the microwave. Add raisins or other dried fruit to the mixture. Pour the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and use a spatula to spread it into an even layer. Sprinkle it with shredded coconut or chopped nuts. Place it in the refrigerator for a few hours to solidify, then remove it and break it into small, edible pieces.
-- Make your own trail mix with dried fruit, nuts, whole grain cereal and about 2 tablespoons of your favorite chocolate pieces.
-- Use a zester, nut grinder or food processor to create ground chocolate or candy for your holiday baking. Sprinkle it on hot cocoa, cookies or cupcakes.
-- Freeze leftover chocolate so it lasts longer.
Get creative for the holidays.
You don't always have to eat your Halloween candy. Instead, use it for fun holiday activities appropriate for both kids and adults.
-- Use the colorful candy to decorate a gingerbread house or gingerbread men.
-- Younger kids can create a holiday card, homemade ornament or picture frame with the sweet stuff.
-- Use leftover candy to decorate holiday gifts.
-- Gather leftovers with you child's school or with neighbors and make care packages to donate to local hospitals, nursing homes, food pantries or shelters.
-- Package leftover candy into care packages to send our troops. Operation Gratitude and Operation Shoebox are two organizations that accept donations for that purpose.
Be a creative teacher.
Candy can be a fun learning tool for a variety of subjects.
-- Science: Use unwanted candy to create hands-on science experiments.
-- Math: Use candy for counting, sorting or grouping.
-- Writing: Write a letter to "the candy fairy" asking to exchange unwanted leftover candy for a small gift.
Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, is the owner of Toby Amidor Nutrition and author of the cookbook "The Greek Yogurt Kitchen" (Grand Central Publishing 2014). She consults and blogs for various organizations, including FoodNetwork.com's Healthy Eats Blog and Sears' FitStudio.
